An incredibly beautiful feeling! However, we might not know as much about love as the poems we know about it. We didn't, but we learned a bit. You know, we can't resist sharing. Because gentlemanship requires it. Ladies and gentlemen; come and see what love does to you?
Now let's pause and just think about love. Suddenly you meet someone and you start to feel a very strong emotion towards them. Everything becomes a little more beautiful, easier, "What a wonderful world!" constantly plays in your brain, butterflies emerging from their cocoons flutter in your stomach, your heart pounds as if it will burst out, your knees buckle, but since you feel like your feet aren't touching the ground anyway, this isn't a problem. All this happens thanks to one person who connects with you in a different way than everyone else in your life. Yes, love is an incredibly beautiful feeling.
But how does all this happen? If life is not just a dream inside a poet's head - which we hope it isn't - there must be a scientific explanation for it - and there is.
Which Hormones Are Involved in Love?
Gentlemen, thanks to science, we know that love has a chemistry. But here, we're not talking about the "chemistry" in the phrase "Our chemistry matched perfectly/didn't match at all." Yes, that exists too, but we are talking about hormones.
Lust: Testosterone and Estrogen
We have previously talked about testosterone and mentioned in that article; this hormone is not only found in men, but also in women, and interestingly, it also plays an important role in women's sexual drives. These hormones are at the forefront when it comes to the lustful state of love.
Congratulations, You're in Love: Dopamine, Serotonin, Norepinephrine
The absence of this trio would be inconceivable. The butterflies mentioned at the beginning of the article, the feeling of weightlessness, living in a "What a wonderful world" state—these three hormones are at work in this phase, which can be the peak of love.
While dopamine has many functions, from mobility to attention and focus, it is best known for being one of the key hormones that triggers feelings of pleasure and enjoyment. This friend also plays a role in making us repeatedly do everything we love. Do you understand now why you always want to be with them? Wink! ;)
Serotonin is the most well-known happiness hormone. Another thing we know is that it is produced not only in the brain, but also in the intestines and a very small amount in blood cells. It also has a role in love. A round of applause for serotonin for playing the "What a wonderful world!" song and sweeping you off your feet!
Norepinephrine, also known as noradrenaline, directly affects the sympathetic nervous system. Its primary function is to help us survive. Oh, and when you see them, your heart races as if it's about to burst... Well, norepinephrine also plays a role in this.
Impossible Without Them: Oxytocin and Vasopressin
Let's immediately say that these hormones play a role in long-term relationships. Especially if you don't know anything about vasopressin, it might surprise you a little.
Oxytocin strengthens the bond between mother and baby. Because when it is secreted by the hypothalamus, it has a function such as ensuring milk production. It is also thought to help strengthen the bond between couples as it is secreted during sex.
Vasopressin, according to a recent study on mice, is known as the fidelity hormone. The conclusion is that mammals with high levels of this hormone are more prone to monogamy, and it plays a role in making you say, "I can't live without them."
How Do We Fall in Love?
There isn't a single answer to this question. In fact, Neurologist Gabija Toleikyte also says that falling in love actually varies from person to person.
Generally, we can say it starts with sex for men and being understood for women, right? Wrong. Toleikyte explains:
Sometimes it can take a long time for love to form between two people. Sometimes it happens instantly. Sometimes there are ups and downs. That's why we give different names to these experiences.
I guess she's not wrong. And she's not alone; Anthropologist and author of "Why We Love" Helen Fisher offers a similar view. Fisher says she believes there are 3 different brain systems:
- Sexual drives
- Feeling romantic love
- A deep attachment.
According to Fisher, sometimes this sequence flows from beginning to end. Sometimes it starts in the middle, and sometimes you might realize you've fallen in love with someone you've known for years. None of this should make you say, "This isn't love!"
What About Love at First Sight?
If there are those among you who find people who believe in love at first sight very romantic, we suggest you think again. Because gentlemen, such a thing is not impossible. We get this information from Arthur Aron and Elaine Spaulding, two Berkeley University students who fell in love at first sight about 50 years ago.
This couple, still together and married, lives their love to the fullest. However, Aron – now a professor of psychology – approaches the subject with scientific curiosity and decides to study love. The question is: Can intimacy suddenly arise between strangers?
Following this question, in a laboratory setting, complete strangers are seated facing each other in a room. They are asked to ask each other 36 given questions, and then to look into each other's eyes for 4 minutes without speaking.
Result: Surpriiiiiise! Most of the couples left that meeting with positive feelings for each other. In fact, one of them even got married later.
How Many Years Does Love Last?
This actually varies depending on you and the person you are in love with. Is it impossible? No, it's not. A study conducted by Helen Fisher showed us this:
15 couples aged 50-60 who still claim to be in love were selected. All of them had been married for an average of 21 years. Brain scans of these couples who still said they were in love revealed that even after all those years, some pathways in the brain that are activated when intense love is felt were still active.
In these days when monogamy, marriage, and long-term relationships are much discussed, this information is a little interesting and makes one think again.
A Share for Everyone:
We often have to research many sources to write these articles. When it comes to love, it's impossible to gather dozens of studies and answers to dozens of questions into a single article. So we focused on the most considered topics.
While doing this, we also reflected. Let's be honest; about our own love lives, when we last fell in love, or whether we are still in love... But when we focused on the scientific side, these thoughts stopped making us anxious.
As a team, we agree that love is one of the most beautiful feelings in the world. And that falling in love is about ourselves, being lucky, giving a chance, and a little effort.
And we say: If you are in love, enjoy it to the fullest! If not, don't be afraid and follow it when you feel it. And #NotJustOneDayEveryDay ;)